1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display panel. More particularly, the present invention relates to a display panel used in a liquid crystal display (“LCD”) device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a liquid crystal display (“LCD”) device includes an LCD panel for displaying an image and a backlight assembly for providing the LCD panel with light. The LCD panel includes a thin-film transistor (“TFT”) substrate having a switching element to drive a pixel, an opposing substrate facing the TFT substrate, and a liquid crystal layer interposed between the TFT substrate and the opposing substrate. An image is displayed on the LCD panel depending upon the light transmittance of the liquid crystal material, which changes according to the voltages applied to the pixel.
Operation modes of the LCD device for displaying an image are classified according to the directional arrangement of liquid crystal molecules. Examples of the operation modes may include a twisted nematic (“TN”) mode, an in-plane switching (“IPS”) mode, a vertical alignment (“VA”) mode, and the like.
The VA mode may include a patterned vertical alignment (“PVA”) mode dividing a pixel into multiple domains in order to facilitate a wide viewing angle. In the PVA mode, a pixel electrode includes a first opening portion, and a common electrode includes a second opening portion not coinciding with the first opening portion, to thereby change the direction of a fringe field between the pixel electrode and the common electrode. The arrangement of the liquid crystal molecules is changed by the direction of the fringe field, so that the liquid crystal molecules are divided into the multiple domains.
However, when an LCD device operating in the PVA mode includes the first and second opening portions, the aperture ratio of the PVA mode may be lower than that of the VA mode. The aperture ratio is generally proportional to a light transmittance ratio, and thus the light transmittance ratio of the PVA mode is lower than that of the VA mode. Thus, when an LCD device is operated in the PVA mode, the display quality may be reduced despite the wide viewing angle.